Bartram Trail may not have been the best team in the county all season, but the Bears were No. 1 on Tuesday night. Further proof that it isn’t where you begin, but where you end up that makes all the difference.

Goalkeeper Clare Difato made two huge saves late in regulation, and the Bears outlasted Ponte Vedra 16-14 in a third-round play-in game on the road, securing their second straight trip to the final four. The Bears will now face Timber Creek, 9-7 winners over Lake Brantley, on Friday in the state semifinals at West Orange High School in Winter Garden.

In the two years since the Florida High School Athletic Association expanded its lacrosse playoff brackets, Bartram (15-6) has been North Florida’s representative on the state’s biggest stage. The Bears were the first squad from the area to reach the third round and the state semifinals a season ago, losing to Orlando Bishop Moore 16-11.

In that run, everyone who has paid attention to the blossoming sport expected the Bears, North Florida’s most successful program by some distance, to follow that path. This season, instead of making some, it appeared Bartram was just plain history.

The Bears lost to Ponte Vedra and Creekside in back-to-back St. Johns County games in mid-March. In both losses, Bartram didn’t really come all that close to winning, either.

Ponte Vedra overcame a slow start to roll 14-11 on the road, snapping the Bears’ five-year unbeaten in-county streak. Creekside followed by winning 13-7 in a game the Knights controlled much of the way.

Then came the postseason, however, and Bartram reverted back to the form that its based an entire program on. The Bears beat the Knights 14-13 to win the District 2 title, rolled Episcopal 21-5, and then set their sights on the state’s fourth-ranked team in Ponte Vedra, according to Laxpower.com.

The Sharks not only jumped the Bartram hurdle this season, they put together a run that would strike fear in any of the state’s best. Ponte Vedra entered Tuesday night’s game 19-1, with its lone loss coming to Lake Brantley. And the Sharks were simply rolling opponents off the field. They won their last four games by a combined score of 81-10.

“They’re (Ponte Vedra) just such a talented team and they make things so hard on you with how fast they score on the break,” Bartram coach Meghan Fanning said. “But we prepared really hard for this game. We know that when we do what we’re supposed to, and are clicking defensively, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”

Bartram’s in-game experience on Tuesday felt a season on its own.

The Bears started strong and led 6-2 after Jocelyn Pena slipped past a defender and threw a goal low and under the stick of Taylor Kimes. Ponte Vedra then made its first run on a night full of them.

The Sharks scored five of the next seven goals to pull within a goal at 8-7. That would start a trend. Ponte Vedra trailed by a goal four more times after that, but would never equalize. They led 1-0 and 2-1 and were tied at 2. Otherwise, Bartram clung to the lead for the entire night.

“We didn’t really (think about it),” Bartram junior attack Lauren Hutzel said. “We just tried to get as many goals as we could, whenever we could.”

Both teams were resilient, with Bartram scoring literally every time Ponte Vedra cut the lead to a goal, and Ponte Vedra continually pushing its way back into the game.

After Caroline Beggs netted one before halftime to make it 9-7, the Bears broke off three unanswered goals to start the second half. Casey Coates sent in the final tally to make it 12-7, a run that was missing the first time these two squads met.

In that game, Ponte Vedra trailed 4-1 before scoring 11 of the next 14 goals and grabbing control of the contest.

Bartram’s run, however, was met by four straight Ponte Vedra goals that seemed like they happened in the course of four possessions. That’s been a staple of the Sharks quick attack all season. Ponte Vedra attack Kylie Reiman threw one in to pull the score to 12-11 with 16:09 remaining.

At that point, Ponte Vedra seemed like it was well on it was to extending an already historic run.

Before this season, the Sharks had never won a playoff game.

“You don’t realize what’s happening during the game,” Coates said. “We tried not to focus on how close they were getting.”

It’s probably best the Bears played ignorant, because they remained cool despite the rising pressure. MaryKate Weaver scored a tough goal to stop the surge and Hutzel added another to regain momentum at 14-11.

Of course, Ponte Vedra responded with two more goals to cut the gap to just a goal, yet again, at 14-13 with 10:06 to go.

It was Pena this time for Bartram who increased the lead back to two goals. Reiman pulled one back for Ponte Vedra and Ruede scored for the Bears to make it 16-14 with 3:53 on the clock.

That’s when Difato grabbed her moment. She stopped two free shots, one with around two minutes left and the other with a little more than 30 seconds. The first was more crucial, as it handed possession over to the Bears and kept them from facing a draw that would allow Abby Walker and Ponte Vedra a chance to tie the game.

That situation would have been reminiscent of last season’s second-round game between the teams. Bartram forced overtime in that game by winning a draw and scoring on a Melissa Coggins goal with less than a minute to play. The Bears went on to win 12-11.

Difato’s save let Bartram tick away much of the game, and the final shot, which would have left Ponte Vedra with almost no time anyway, was simply icing for the Bartam sophomore.

“I had no idea those saves were so big when I was making them,” Difato said. “I was just trying to stop the shots.”

Added Fanning: “She’s a phenomenal goalie and I wouldn’t trade her for anyone else. And the best part about her, she’s only a sophomore.”

The Bears were led on the night by Hutzel and Ruede, who each had five goals. Coates and Pena tallied two apiece, while Beggs and Weaver each tossed in one. Difato also finished with eight saves.

Anne Zawacki paced Ponte Vedra with five goals. Reiman and Walker added four apiece and Emma Dotsikas had one.